The invention relates generally to welding systems and, more particularly, to a drive roll carrier for use in a welding wire feeder.
Welding is a process that has increasingly become ubiquitous in various industries and applications. While such processes may be automated in certain contexts, a large number of applications continue to exist for manual welding operations. Such welding operations rely on a variety of types of equipment to ensure the supply of welding consumables (e.g., wire feed, shielding gas, etc.) is provided to the weld in an appropriate amount at a desired time. For example, gas metal arc welding (GMAW) typically relies on a wire feeder to ensure a proper wire feed reaches a welding torch.
Such wire feeders facilitate the feeding of welding wire from a wire spool, through a pair of feed rolls, to the welding torch at a desired wire feed rate. At least one of the feed rolls, a drive roll, is driven by a motor to move the welding wire through the wire feeder. A drive roll carrier receives and holds the drive roll, while the motor rotates the drive roll carrier to turn the drive roll. The drive roll carrier can receive different drive rolls configured to move different types of welding wire through the wire feeder. However, existing drive roll carriers are often cumbersome assemblies, and can be difficult to replace if any part of the drive roll wears out.